The Columbia River Basin Restoration Program is working to hard to implement the two authorities provided to EPA by Congress in Clean Water Act Section 123: managing a competitive grant program to improve water quality with a specific focus on toxics reduction; and providing a voluntary collaboration to coordinate and share information across the Basin through the Columbia River Basin Restoration Program Working Group.
EPA is placing a high priority on leadership, accountability, results, communication and engagement to grow the Columbia River Basin Restoration Program and we will use the Columbia River Basin Restoration Program Working Group to share information and involve entities around the Basin to help us achieve our vision and our goals.
Under the leadership of Sen Merkley, the Columbia River Basin Restoration Act was passed in 2016, with widespread and diverse support, amending the Clean Water Act and directing EPA to develop a grant program to reduce toxics while coordinating with a diverse Basin-wide collaboration of tribal governments; agriculture; industries; NGOs; state, local and federal governments; and private citizens.
In 2020, using Congressional appropriations, EPA awarded the first 14 grants throughout the Basin to Tribal and state governments, municipalities, NGOs, universities and other entities to implement and develop monitoring, increase agricultural best practices, increase green infrastructure and increase pollution prevention and public engagement and education. We are currently working towards final grant awards of the grant applications that EPA received through our FY22/FY21 Request for Applications. We will be making final awards in the near future and we will be sharing that information with the Working Group and providing information on the awarded grants on our website.
In 2021, under Senator Merkley’s leadership, EPA received $79 million through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to fund competitive grants through the Columbia River Basin Restoration Program to reduce toxics. These BIL funds are in addition to Congressional appropriations, and EPA is expecting a combined funding amount of at least $16 million a year for the next five years. We are expecting the BIL funding to support a long term sustained effort, and build tribal and community capacity to achieve toxics reduction for the next 8-10 years.
At this time, EPA is planning 3 upcoming Requests for Applications (RFA) in late 2022/early 2023. These RFAs will be focused on toxics reduction actions such as agricultural best practices, stormwater green infrastructure, pollution prevention, clean up of small contaminated non-CERCLA sites, and community education and involvement, with a special focus on tribal and environmental justice communities. One of the RFAs will be solely for Columbia River Basin Tribal Governments. We plan on reaching out to Tribal Governments by the end of August to inform them of this opportunity. We are exploring opportunities for the awarded grants in all 3 RFAs to have extended timelines for up to 4 years. We will share more details as we develop the specific RFAs. The BIL funding through these and future RFAs will provide a historic investment in Columbia River Basin communities and tribal governments through multi-year grants to build long term capacity to reduce toxics in Columbia River Basin waters, fish and wildlife.
EPA will be issuing an additional RFA in 2023 with a focus on monitoring. We need to do further work to develop the monitoring RFA to understand and assess current monitoring in the Basin so that we can promote future grant funding for additional monitoring that meets the highest assessment priorities. We will continue to fund individual project monitoring as a key part of our grant program to provide accountability for our program and share information on toxics reduction successes that can be replicated.
We plan on developing technical assistance materials on successful toxics reduction efforts to assist potential future grant applicants in advance of the upcoming RFAs. We plan on providing this information through fact sheets, webinars and any other information sharing techniques that can help prospective grant applicants.
As we further solidify our plans for these upcoming RFAs, we plan to use this Working Group as the mechanism for sharing information on our upcoming RFAs, upcoming webinars, and other technical assistance opportunities. We also plan to use our Columbia River Basin website. We will be providing regular updates through the Working Group as our plans become more definite and to share technical assistance opportunities. We are currently planning a (hybrid remote/in person) Working Group meeting in mid-October and we can use that meeting to share specific information to the Working Group.
With the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, we have a once in a generation opportunity to reduce toxics in the Columbia River Basin which can provide human health and ecosystem protection, especially for Tribal communities and other environmental justice communities, who have increased exposure to toxics through lifeways, spirituality, employment and culture. We know that toxics reduction will reduce cancer, better protect childhood and public health, and provide a healthier ecosystem for future generations. We also know that many toxics reduction actions will have a significant mitigating impact on climate change in the Columbia River Basin as we continue to experience a changing climate.
EPA is looking forward to working with the Working Group to achieve these goals and provide toxics reduction work efforts throughout the Basin. Please let us know if you have any questions or need a clarification on this information.
Funding Opportunities
* Applications due July 20, 2022 * USDA Urban Agriculture Grants Program
USDA Urban Agriculture Grants support the development of urban agriculture and innovative production projects. Total funding available is around $4 million for two types of projects: planning projects and implementation projects. Proposals are due July 30. Projects may range from $50,000 to $300,000 and do not require match. For more information, click here.
*Applications due July 21, 2022* America The Beautiful Challenge
The America the Beautiful Challenge coordinates funding from multiple federal agencies and private philanthropy into one competitive grant program. It is a public-private grant program for locally led ecosystem restoration projects that invest in watershed restoration, resilience, equitable access, workforce development, corridors and connectivity, and collaborative conservation, consistent with the America the Beautiful Initiative. Applications are currently being accepted and must be submitted to PERC no later than 8:00 p.m. EDT on July 1, 2022.
For more information on this funding opportunity and to apply, click here.
* Applications due July 22, 2022 * EPA Regions Announce $1.13 Million in Regional Source Reduction Assistance Grant Opportunities
EPA is announcing a grant funding opportunity for EPA Regions 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 and 10 to advance innovative, cost-effective, and replicable source reduction approaches that save energy and water, reduce pollution, and improve human health and the environment. Source reduction, also known as pollution prevention (P2), means preventing pollution at the source rather than managing waste after it is produced. EPA Region 7 (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska) anticipates awarding approximately 1 to 4 grants, ranging from approximately $40,000 to $180,000, subject to the availability of funds, quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations. There is a total of $1,135,000 in federal funds available across all participating EPA Regions. Applications require a cost share or match of 5% of the federal funds requested. EPA is particularly interested in receiving applications for projects that are designed to achieve measurable reductions of greenhouse gas emissions, result in reduced generation and use of hazardous materials, address reducing use of natural resources such as energy or water, and support environmental justice for underserved communities. An informational webinar on this funding program will be held on Monday, June 13, at 1:30 p.m. CDT. You can register for this webinar at https://usepa.zoomgov.com/j/1603847538. If you have any questions, please contact Lisa Dunning, Region 7 Interim Pollution Prevention Program Coordinator, at dunning.lisa@ epa.gov.
* Applications due August 2, 2022 * EPA Seeks Applications for Brownfields Job Training Grants
EPA announced that approximately $12 million in funding for environmental job training grants is now available under the Fiscal Year 2023 Brownfields Job Training Program. EPA anticipates awarding approximately 25 grants nationwide at amounts up to $500,000 per award. “EPA’s Brownfields Job Training Program boosts the environmental workforce while helping to transform communities that need it the most,” said Carlton Waterhouse, EPA deputy assistant administrator, Office of Land and Emergency Management. “This grant cycle, we were able to increase the amount of funding available so that organizations can apply for more resources as they work to create a skilled workforce in communities where assessment, cleanup, and preparation of brownfield sites for reuse activities are taking place.” The funding available during this grant cycle comes from the historic $1.5 billion investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This budget boost provides communities, states, and tribes with the opportunity to apply for larger grants to build and enhance the environmental curriculum in job training programs to support job creation and community revitalization at brownfield sites. Ultimately, this investment will help trained individuals access jobs created through brownfield revitalization activities within their communities. EPA is committed to meeting and exceeding the Biden-Harris administration’s Justice40 goal that at least 40% of the benefits of certain government programs flow to disadvantaged communities. The Brownfields program will strive to meet this commitment and advance environmental justice and equity considerations into all aspects of our work. Click here for more information.
* Applications due September 22, 2022 * Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Program 2022
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) Coastal Program is a voluntary, community-based program that provides technical and financial assistance through cooperative agreements to coastal communities, conservation partners and landowners to restore and protect fish and wildlife habitat on public and private lands. The Coastal Program staff coordinates with partners, stakeholders and other Service programs to identify geographic focus areas and develop habitat conservation goals and priorities within these focus areas. Coastal Program habitat improvement projects strive to increase coastal resiliency by improving the ability of coastal ecosystems to adapt to environmental changes and supporting natural and nature-based infrastructure projects to protect and enhance coastal habitats. To learn more about this grant opportunity, click here.
Webinars and Calls
*July 20, 2022 * Webinar on EPA Brownfields Grants and Nonprofits
Join EPA for the second webinar of Nonprofit Know-How, which shares strategies that nonprofits use to address brownfields as part of their larger community revitalization efforts and helps build capacity amongst different types of nonprofits to tackle brownfield issues. Registration is required.
*September 8, 2022 * NOAA’s Drought Prediction: Water Availability Prediction for Ecosystems – End User Listening Session